Rhus. 181 



than eighteen inches high. The heads of some are 

 branched, but these are not less elegant than when in 

 a simple-stemmed state, so that here we have clearly 

 a subject that will afford a charming fern-like effect 

 in the full sun, and add graceful verdure and dis- 

 tinction to the flower-garden. When the flowers show 

 after the plant is a few years old, they may be pinched 

 off; but this need only be practised in the case of per- 

 manent groups or plantings of it. To produce the effect 

 of a Grevillea or a fern on a small scale, we should of 

 course keep this graceful Rhus small and propagate it 

 like a bedding-plant. Like most other shrubs, it has a 

 tendency to branch; but to fully enjoy the beauty of 

 the leaves it is best to cut down the plants yearly, as 

 then the leaves given off from the simple erect stem are 

 much larger and more graceful. It will, however, be 

 necessary to allow it to become established before treat- 

 ing it in this way, as it is at present comparatively new 

 to our gardens. The figure, sketched early in August, 

 represents a young plant little more than a foot high, 

 which had been cut down to the ground during the spring 

 of the past year, and proves that its full beauty may 

 be enjoyed in a very small state. It may be most taste- 

 fully used in association with bedding-plants, or on banks 

 in or near the rock-garden or hardy fernery, planting it 

 in light sandy loam. The graceful mixtures and bouquet- 

 like beds that might be made with the aid o such plants 

 need not be suggested here, while of course an estab- 

 lished plant, or groups of three, might well form the 

 centre of a bed. Planting a very small bed or group 

 separately in the flower-garden, and" many other uses 

 which cannot be enumerated here, will occur to those 



